Recently randomly stumbled upon Ben Gongs Tea and Bakery in Burwood. The place looks great, very modern aesthetics and clean looking. It seemed very popular so I decided to give it a shot.

I decided to try one of their Strawberry buns. Other flavours were also available.

However, unfortunately looks are very deceiving. Most would imagine biting into something rather sweet, but in this case it was failed. The bun was a bread bun, not a sweet pastry bun , was plain and unflavoured. The cream was not a sweet whipped cream, or sweet cream but rather a plain yoghurty tasting yoghurt. I’m not sure who creates this and thinks people will want to eat plain yoghurt on plain bread?

The tea was nothing special. Just plain tea with some fruit thrown into it.

Ben Gongs is aesthetically pleasing but in terms of taste, it falls very short.

Anyone who is into mega sized sandwiches with options catered to the adventurous needs to try Aria in Merrylands out. I stumbled upon this place accidentally, as I never venture towards that particular side, as it doesn’t seem like much is happening on that particular end.

Aria – Persian Sandwiches

Sandwiches are well priced, and very filling.

Brain and tongue

Unfortunately the final product looks nothing like the photos, but fortunately they do taste good.

La Mesa is a Filipino restaurant located in Haymarket Sydney. It isn’t a hugely poular cuisine in Sydney, so naturally I went and tried it.

Bistik – Beef strips marinated in soy and lemon juice. I found it to be pretty salty, but bearable when paired with plain rice.

Sizzling Sisig – sizzling dish of pig head parts. This was easily one of my favourite dishes on the night. Nice balanced flavours.

CRISPY PATA – “signature dish; Tender pork leg deep fried to make its skin and meat crispy, served with a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce and…” Nice texture and crispiness.

CHICKEN ADOBO – “A most popular Philippine dish of tender chicken fillets cooked in sugar cane vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and black pepper” I was pretty keen to try this but was unfortunately disappointed. The chicken was cooked pretty well. But in terms of flavour, it just tasted like plain chicken with soy sauce – literally.

I expected this to be overly sweet as I saw it arrive at the table. But surprisingly it is well balanced. You taste something different with each spoonful. Reminds me of other Asian influenced deserts – similar flavors.

Aaboll is a hands-on food experience discovered out west. It is conveniently located next to the train station for all you non-drivers.I have not been to any other Ethiopian restaurants – so can’t fairly compare. But thus far, I have really enjoyed eating here.

Eat Love Pizza is located in a prime location in Darling Harbour right next to the Imax Theatre. Strangely enough its prime location does not help in bringing in customers unfortunately. As you walk around the bend from Darling Harbour to Cockle Bay Wharf you tend not to see the rest of the restaurant. I have walked past this restaurant many times, and just assumed that it was some kind of take out place.

We decided to give this place a couple weeks ago, and thought that the decor was much nicer than we had anticipated.

Arancini Balls. These tasted ‘breadier’ and drier than the usual arancini balls I have had in the past. The added sauce is a necessity in this case. I wasn’t blown away. Perhaps a different kind of sauce rather than something that is essentially Tomato Sauce would raise it up another level.

Gelato & Sorbet With biscotti.Chefs Selection. Cookies and Cream, Coconut and some fruity one. The cookies and cream tasted pretty standard, the coconut tasted like coconut milk you get out of a can. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the flavour of the fruity one, but it tasted a lot like Fruit Tingle Lollies. Awesome.

Tetsuyas can be found in the Sydney CBD behind giant iron gates, and within a massive house. From the moment you enter it is all very posh. But for $220 per person for the tasting menu you would expect that.

Part of the menu (I will need to upload the rest of it when I find it)

Some Oysters they upsold me at the start. Were they good? mm, they were ok.

The service was great, the staff were very attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. However I do feel as though the service style does lack character and personality.But in saying that, it’s understandable. Working in a world renowned fine dining restaurant with the occasional snotty customer would be like walking on egg shells.

Unfortunately I can’t accurately recall how each meal tasted since this was around fathers day last year. However I do remember really enjoying the food, and would definitely recommend it .

The carrot puree has quite a sweet flavour, which is quite a common pairing when it comes to Pork Belly dishes. In this instance, it did not work for me (subjective). The Pork Belly was okay. It could do with some sides to balance to dish a little better.

Quite a unique and pretty looking dessert. Could do with a little more strawberry ice cream, to compensate for the generous chocolate soil provided. Could do with a little more fresh berries.

Overall

The staff are super friendly and helpful, however unfortunately I do find the food does need a little refining. I think simplicity is the key in this instance. I would rather eat something basic and well cooked rather than something that is confusing and complicated…

Perhaps my experience will be different next time round, but for now it was just okay.

We finish off with 2 plates of Banana Fritters. We were stuffed by the end of it, and realised we should have just ordered the one plate. They have an option to get the ‘premium’ ice-cream. The standard option is more like a soft style ice cream.

Basically you pay $10 for a bucket. Fill it up and put it into a bag at the end.

Most people fill their buckets higher than this. But since we took our One year old and had two buckets it would have been a little difficult.

Little man giving it a go.As you can see there is plenty of fruit to pick.

Getting there is pretty easy. Just follow Old Northern Rd all the way until you get to Singleton Road. Be careful on the drive back on singleton rd though. The road barely fits two vehicles, and for some reason – some drivers wont move to the left.